Photos: Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area

Updated 1326 GMT (2026 HKT) May 7, 2013

Photos: Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area33 photos

Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Firefighters start a backfire into the Santa Monica Mountains to help control the Springs Fire in southeast Ventura County, California, on Saturday, May 4. The fire damaged 15 homes and five commercial properties and destroyed 25 outbuildings in the Los Angeles area as of Saturday, fire authorities said.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighter pulls a hose line near a backfire while fighting the Springs Fire on May 4.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighter with the Silver City Hotshots works on a backfire near Newbury Park on May 4.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A burned cross stands along the side of a road amid scorched mountains burned by the Springs Fire near Point Mugu State Park, 40 miles north of Los Angeles, on May 4.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Firefighters monitor the fire-scorched hills near Point Mugu State Park on May 4.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighter surveys the burned hills from the Springs Fire near Camarillo on May 4.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A tanker plane drops fire retardant to control the Springs Fire in Camarillo on Saturday, May 4.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – U.S. Forest Service Hotshot firefighters walk along the edge of the fire near Hidden Valley on May 4.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Firefighter Justin Romero of the New Mexico-based Silver City Hotshots uses a drip torch to build a backfire up the mountain off Potrero Road to control the Springs Fire near Newbury Park, California, on Friday, May 3. Winds have made fighting the Springs Fire blaze more difficult, and authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations of homes and the campus of California State University, Channel Islands.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Homeowner Brian Bonsant uses a hose as flames get close to his barn during the second day of the Springs Fire in the mountain areas of Ventura County, California, on May 3. Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle wind and dry conditions as the fires continue to burn.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Firefighters make their way out of a canyon near Malibu, California, on May 3.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Firefighters based out of the Lone Peak Conservation Center in Draper, Utah, build a fire break as a wildfire continues to grow on May 3, near Camarillo, California.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A helicopter makes a water drop next to a small fire tornado near Camarillo.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – San Bernardino County firefighters observe the wildfire next to a statue of St. Francis of Assisi on May 3 in Hidden Hills, California. Thousands of homes are threatened by the growing wildfire northwest of Los Angeles that has forced the closure of the scenic coastal highway.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A man looks at approaching flames on May 3 in Camarillo.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A man takes a photo of the wall of flames on May 3 in Hidden Hills.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighter sprays water on a flareup along the Pacific Coast Highway in Point Mugu, California, on May 3.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Fire burns along the Pacific Coast Highway close to the Naval Base near Point Mugu, California, on May 3.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighter goes after on a flareup along the Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu, California, on May 3.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Lifeguards in Malibu, California, watch smoke rising from the wildfire burning near the Pacific Coast Highway on May 3.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Firefighters battle a wildfire at Point Mugu State Park in California, on May 3.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – The Springs Fire burns in the early morning near the Pacific Coast Highway at Point Mugu State Park, California, on May 3.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighter works against a wall of flames from an out-of-control wildfire on Thursday, May 2, in Camarillo, California.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A large plume of smoke rises from the wildfires in Newbury Park, California, on May 2.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighter prepares to push back against the flames in Camarillo on May 2.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – Firefighters put out hot spots on a hillside behind homes in Newbury Park on May 2.

Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A firefighting helicopter comes in to make a water drop behind homes threatened by the fire on Thursday. Ninety-six fire engines, six helicopters and five bulldozers have been deployed in battling two California wildfires in the Los Angeles area, according to fire authorities.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – A resident watches as the fire approaches homes in Newbury Park. Flare-ups rose 15 feet behind backyards, but no houses had caught fire by about noon Thursday local time.

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Wildfires threaten Los Angeles area – The wildfire burns out of control near an farm in Camarillo, California, on Thursday. Nearly 600 fire and law enforcement personnel were assigned to battle the blaze.